Education Notes: Week of Sept. 12

September 12, 2012

The third annual Oasis Fall Festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 20, from 4: 8 p.m. at Oasis Charter Schools Campus, 3415 Oasis Boulevard. This fun and exciting family event includes food vendors, games and inflatables for children of all ages! The public is invited.

College Night 2012

College Night 2012, hosted by Lee County Public Schools and the city of Fort Myers, is being held from 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the Harborside Event Center, 1375 Monroe St., Fort Myers. A grant through the city of Fort Myers has helped defer the cost for the use of the venue for this event. College Night will feature over 100 representatives from different colleges, universities, art and culinary institutes as well as military academies. It is free and open to the public.

Healthy beginning can help you become healthier

Is it possible to change the problems of overweight, hypertension, stress, diabetes, and heart disease with lifestyle choices? Cape residents can get a boost of information and motivation to make better, healthy choices, learn healthy recipes, and employ simple lifestyle tools at a free Healthy Beginnings seminar in Cape Coral on Sunday, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m. This free seminar will take place on Sunday and Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm for a total of four sessions on Sept. 16, 18, 23 and 25 in the Community Room of the Adventist Church in the southwest Cape at 1813 Eldorado Parkway West (off Chiquita Blvd. south of Cape Coral Parkway). Each session will cover different topics, so residents can feel free to come to as many as will fit their schedule. Each evening will include entertaining video presentations by renowned health expert, Dr. Hans Diehl, food samples with recipes, and interactive discussion. Advance registration is requested(but no required) to help estimate for materials and samples. Call 239-450-1290.

An optional Cooking Lab with hands-on healthy recipe demonstrations will be offered as an extra, free bonus on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 5 p.m. prior to the seminar session. This free seminar is sponsored by Genesis Center for Better Living (a new community service from the Health Education Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of Cape Coral) and Fort Myers CHIP (Complete Health Improvement Program). Seminar will be hosted by Teresa Lucas, RN and Lloyd Hartman, local educators experienced in teaching how to eat more and lose weight, disarm diabetes, decrease heart attack risk, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and reduce cancer risk. For more information about healthy lifestyle visit www.NEWSTARTclub.com and enter promo code 440 or visit www.fortmyersCHIP.com

Lee Community Youth Chorus

Does your child like to sing? A new chorus is forming in Lee County and we would love to have your child join in the fun!

Lee Community Youth Chorus is a multicultural music education and performance program for youth that fosters talent, confidence and community. The chorus is open to all students, age 8-plus and will combine all levels of singing abilities. Singers will be taught to sing in two-part harmony and will experience a wide variety of musical styles. The repertoire consists of upbeat, easily recognizable songs that are fun to sing! We'll take this show on the road to perform at senior centers and various community-wide events. Weekly rehearsals are held on Mondays, 4:30-6:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 13411 Shire Lane, Fort Myers. Tuition is $25 per year, which includes a LCYC T-shirt. A limited number of scholarships are available. To register, call the director, Debby Dorr at 941-866-1710 or email pianodorr@gmail.com.

Four Freedoms Park

A number of activities have been scheduled at Four Freedom's Park:

* Fun-N-Glow Party (3-6 years)

Saturday, Oct. 20, 11 a.m.-noon

$10 Res / $15 Non-Res

Play games and do fun activities. Snack, drink and glow-in-the-dark party favors included.

For more information call (239) 574-0804.

* Baby Flea Market (18-plus years)

Saturday, Nov. 3, 9 a.m.- noon

Vendor Fee: $21.20 w/tax Res-$31.80 w/tax Non-Res

Rent a space to sell your used infant and toddler clothing,furniture, toys, etc.

For more information please call (239) 574-0804.

* Pee Wee Halloween (2-3 years)

Monday, Oct. 29, 11:am-noon.

$10 Res / $15 Non-Res

You and your child can enjoy an hour of Halloween fun with story time, crafts, and a snack. Parent must attend w/child.

Please call for more information (239)574-0804.

* Story Time with Mrs. Claus

Thursday, Dec. 20, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

$10 Res / $15 Non-Res

Enjoy a story, finger plays, a craft and a holiday snack with Mrs. Claus! Parent must attend with child.

For more information please call (239) 574-0804.

Garden Council scholarship

A $1,000 scholarship has been established at Florida Gulf Coast University for an undergraduate student in the area of Landscape Design or Horticulture by the Fort Myers-Lee County Garden Council. The first scholarship recipient will be named this fall.

The scholarship is open to any undergraduate in the areas of landscape design or horticulture, which are under the auspices of the Berne Davis Chair. Selection of the recipient will be made by FGCU under the guidance of the Garden Council. The recipient will be presented the scholarship during the November meeting of the council. For more information about the Garden Council scholarship or scholarship opportunities at FGCU,contact Judith Cassidy at 239-590-1058 or jcassidy@fgcu.edu.

Mentors needed

The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools is in need of mentors to match with high school students who have been awarded the Take Stock in Children Scholarship.

The mentor commits to meet with the child during school hours two to four times a month. No tutoring is involved and basic training is provided. To help out call the Friendship Volunteer Center at 275-4427.

Rainy day movies at the library

Looking for a fun way to spend a rainy day? Check out the movies available at your local library. Did you know that the Lee County Library System has more than 185,000 DVDs and over 8,500 Blu-ray movies? These movies include cartoons, documentaries, comedies, TV series, sci-fi, crime, mysteries, action /adventure, foreign films, classics, westerns, musicals and more. The movies are distributed by the likes of: PBS, Disney, Sony, Universal Studios, Twentieth Century Fox and National Geographic.

"You can always" find a fun, educational or interesting movie to watch," said Sheldon Kaye, Lee County Library System director in a prepared statement. "The only thing that is required is to have a Lee County Library card in good standing."

You may search for a movie in the Lee County Library System's catalog from your home computer via the library eBranch or website at www.lee-county/library. When you find movies you would like to view, you may put the movies on request if they are not already at your closest library. The movie(s) will then be delivered to your selected library and you will be contacted via a phone call or email when it is ready for pick-up. You may have up to seven movies checked-out at a time, per library card. The movies may be borrowed for up to one week. They are renewable for one additional week, unless the item is "Most Wanted" or reserved for another library patron.

Don't have a Lee County Library System library card? Getting one is free and easy. Visit www.lee-county.com/library to apply online, or stop by any branch. Information about Lee County Library System is available for your convenience 24 hours-a-day at www.lee-county.com/library where you can find out about library services, programs, locations, view an online events calendar or place a hold on library items.

Telephone Reference is available at 239-479-INFO (4636).

Library ebooks available for Kindle at the LCLS

The Lee County Library System has announced that its eBook collection is now compatible with the world's bestselling eBook reader, the Amazon Kindle. Patrons can now download popular and classic eBooks to a Kindle device or any mobile device running the free Kindle app, such as iPhone, iPad, Android and more.

The LCLS Download Depot also offers eBooks and audio books for use on a PC or Mac computer and popular mobile devices such as a Smartphone, MP3 player, and eBook reader like the Barnes & Noble Nook and Sony Reader.

Kindle users can browse the LCLS's collection of approximately 50,000 bestselling and classic eBooks from a PC or Mac computer, check out titles using a library card, and select "Get for Kindle" to deliver eBooks to their Kindle device or any device running the free Kindle app.

Telephone reference is available at 239-479-INFO (4636).

Children's Advocacy

The Children's Advocacy Center, which supports and protects the child victims of abuse through collaborative intervention and comprehensive treatment in a soothing environment needs volunteers.

Opportunities include administrative help in the office, support with special projects and help with fundamentals. Call the Friendship Volunteer Center for additional details at 275-4427.